'They can't afford their pets'BY JOY BLACKBURN
Virgin Islanders gave up their pets in record numbers last year in what may be another indicator of the continuing toll of hard economic times.
The number of animals the St. Croix Animal Welfare Center took in during 2010 jumped by 20 percent over the previous year - and reached a significantly higher level than it had in any year during the previous five years, said Gretchen Sherrill, shelter coordinator.
While the numbers are grimmest on St. Croix, they number of animals turned into shelters last year also rose significantly on St. Thomas.
Sherrill believes the state of the economy - and the money problems many are experiencing - are driving the increase.
The numbersIn 2009, the St. Croix Animal Welfare Center took in 3,016 animals, either given up by their owners or picked up as strays, Sherrill said. Intakes had remained fairly constant over about five years, hovering around the 3,000 mark.
And then, in 2010, that number jumped dramatically to approximately 3,600 animals - a 20 percent increase, she said.
"People say they can't afford their pets anymore," Sherrill said. "We have heard that financial reason given much more frequently than before. I do think the economy is playing a role."
While the Humane Society of St. Thomas also saw an increase in animal intakes during 2010, it was not nearly so steep as on St. Croix.
In 2009, the Humane Society took in 1,890 animals on St. Thomas, while in 2010, that number increased to 1,975 - a 4 percent jump, said Annabel Hiltz, operations manager at the Humane Society of St. Thomas.
On St. John, the number of animals taken in by the Animal Care Center - a no-kill shelter - has remained fairly constant.
"It pretty much stays the same," said Diana Ripley, former president and current board member and committee chair for shelter operations at the Animal Care Center. "The difference is how many get adopted and how long they stay with you. We've had dogs up to three years. We try our best to keep moving them."
In 2010, the shelter on St. John took in 163 animals, six fewer than in 2009, Ripley said.
It is telling, Sherrill said, that even with similar populations in the island districts, St. Croix has so many more unwanted companion animals - even during average years - than St. Thomas and St. John combined.
"It's really entirely too high here," she said, speaking of St. Croix.
The problemDealing with the problem of an exploding population of unwanted companion animals on an island that has a relatively constant population of humans requires a multi-faceted approach, Sherrill said.
A new low-cost spay-neuter program that is starting up on the island will help, she said.
But it will deal with only part of the problem.
There are too many people, Sherrill said, who simply don't plan well enough and find themselves in situations where they cannot keep their pets, even in average years. Oftentimes those people wind up either turning their companion animals in at the shelter directly or simply turning them loose.
People should consider the cost of responsible pet ownership before taking an animal in, she said.
"There's always been a segment of the population that get pets, and then can't afford them," she said. "Also, there has been an issue of continentals leaving and they either don't want to, or can't afford to pay the airline fees to take their animals back with them."
However, as the recession continues to take its toll, more owners - even those who never expected to - are finding themselves in situations where they can no longer afford their animals.
Financial reasons for giving up a pet run the gamut from being unable to meet the basic costs to feed and shelter the animal, to being unable to afford veterinary care for animals that have taken ill, she said.
She urged owners who are unable to keep their pets to either find them a new home on their own or to call the shelter - and not to simply set them loose.
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